Celebrating the unacknowledged and unappreciated life of women in our modern materialistic ego-driven culture, recognizing her unvalued contribution in nourishing and upholding the very fabric and foundation of life and civilization in the planet. The purpose is not to put women in a higher pedestal nor to emasculate men, but to arrive at a deeper understanding of the role of feminine in conscious human evolution, wise understanding and gender communication at all levels.

9/10/2011

US Silent on Convention Eliminating All Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)

"Ratifying CEDAW remains among the unfinished business of the Civil Rights movement." - Dorothy I. Height, April 13, 2010

Almost all countries have ratified the CEDAW agreement – 186 out of 193 countries have ratified. Only seven have not ratified, including the United States, Sudan, Somalia, Iran, and three small Pacific Island nations (Nauru, Palau, and Tonga).
Ratification of CEDAW in US has no financial cost. It just requires 67 Senators to stand together for women and girls.

<> Domestic violence: the landmark Violence Against Women Act, has done much to prevent domestic violence, yet two million women a year report injuries from current or former partners in the United States.
<> Maternal health: the United States ranks 41st among a ranking of 184 countries on maternal deaths during pregnancy and childbirth, below all other industrialized nations and a number of developing countries.
<> Economic security: U.S. women continue to lag behind men in income, earning on average only 77 cents for every dollar that a man makes.
<> Paid Parental Leave: Only four countries have no national law mandating paid time off for new parents : Liberia, Papua New Guinea, Swaziland, and the United States [wikipedia]
<> State of US Children: One Third of America’s poor are children—16.4 million. - Children's Defense Fund
<> Human trafficking: the Trafficking Victims Protection Act has played a pivotal role in combating human trafficking. However, estimates suggest that there may be 20,000 women, men and children trafficked into the U.S. each year. - RatifyCEDAW.org

Hillary Clinton is gathering support for CEDAW since its signing by President Carter 30 years ago. Isn't that strange? -Huffington Post, 9/20/2011

In a recent Newsweek Survey of 165 countries on the best places for Women to live with equality, Iceland, Sweden, Canada, Denmark, Finland and Norway made it to the top of the list.- Daily Beast World News, 9/20/2011

According to UN Women (formerly Unifem), 70% of the World's poor are women and girls. Poverty is a women's issue and there is no 'gender-neutral' budget or policy. Women perform 66% of the world’s work, produce 50% of the food, but earn 10% of the income and own 1% of the property.[source]

Brahma dwells in homes where children respect their parents. - Buddha, Itivuttaka

"To be female is to have the dukkha of a female, to be male is to have the dukkha of a male. Children have the dukkha of children, and adults have the dukkha of adults, as long as there is grasping and clinging."

- Buddhadasa Bhikkhu

Let us ride our horse of confidence

Use our bow and arrow of genuineness

Develop our gentleness, so we need not destroy our world.

- Chyogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

"Most Buddhists seem unaware of the critical role women can play and do not seem to care about women’s disadvantaged status. Buddhists seem to believe their own propaganda that women and men are equal in Buddhism, and are blinded to the blatant inequalities that currently exist. Some Buddhists pay lip service to women's importance, but institutional structures do not reflect any commitment to women's advancement or to women's equal participation. In fact, the mantra that women and men are equal in Buddhism acts as a kind of smokescreen to mask inequities that are clearly visible. Women continue to be sidelined in public forums, even by educated and otherwise compassionate people, both women and men""

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"Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are only princesses who are waiting to see us act just once with beauty and courage. perhaps everything terrible is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that needs our love." - Rilke